An appeal to friends: Please don't share the videos of the Maute group vandalizing Catholic churches. This is what they want to happen, to divide everyone according to our religion. Let me tell you a story and I have told this a thousand times. A group of journalists were threatened with homemade shotguns in Quiapo and they were able to leave without any injuries. What I didn't tell anyone yet was that the suspects were Muslims. That doesn't matter though because the ones who negotiated the departure were also Muslims. I was part of the group and this is a first hand account. The point here is that the propensity of an individual or group to commit violence is not exclusive to one's faith. Extremism is not monopolized by Islam, it can also be promoted by other religions.

If you want to call for peace, urge our peace negotiators to sign a peace deal so that the soldiers of war will have the same opportunities as we do. Make them feel that they are included in our plans for prosperity and progress.

If you want to help, ask the DSWD and different government agencies how you can donate to the refugees and make sure that all Filipinos are taken care of in the evacuation centers.

And if you can't do those, spread the message of how Muslims are also protecting Christians from ISIS operatives in Marawi. Let your friends know that no matter what we believe in, our humanity is more important and our brothers and sisters in Mindanao are showing them the same compassion that Christ expects from us.

We are all Filipinos whether we carry a cross or a crescent in our heart.